Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital board to hold merger meeting

The Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital's board of directors will set a special meeting to decide how to proceed with a potential merger.

Hospital spokeswoman Adrienne Laurent said the board will likely schedule a meeting for next week to decide whether to go ahead with the affiliation process, and which organization or organizations will be invited to proceed into the next round.

On Tuesday, about 140 community members crowded into the hospital board room and an overflow area to hear presentations from county-owned Natividad Medical Center, HCA Healthcare and Vanguard Health Systems.

The three organizations were chosen from a list of six that expressed interest in pursuing an affiliation with Salinas Valley Memorial.

LHP Hospital Group could also be considered if it identifies a regional partner that would be part of its proposal.

After next week's meeting, two town hall meetings will be conducted in April and May as part of the "due diligence" process aimed at vetting the hospital's potential partners.

Under the affiliation timeline, the board would choose a final candidate by the end of May, and after a final agreement is reached a public vote would be conducted in the fall.

Also at next week's special meeting, the board could consider if it wants to send its legal counsel contract to bid after several closed-session performance reviews of its law firm, Ottone, Leach, Olsen and Ray.

A recently released state audit was critical of the legal advice the board received, including with regard to compliance with the state's open meeting laws, known as the Brown Act.